MAKING BEDS AND BORDERS 77 



trench turfs, weeds, and garden and house 

 refuse, which in due time will rot and supply 

 humus. 



On light soils, which usually owe their light- 

 ness to an undue amount of sand, or may 

 consist almost entirely of sand, we may add 

 stiff loam and clay to give it greater body and 

 a more retentive character. As such soils 

 are usually deficient in humus, vegetable 

 matter also may be added with advantage. 



Whether the treatment is designed to render 

 a heavy soil lighter or a light one heavier, the 

 aim of the garden maker should be to sec re a 

 well-drained bed or border, the soil of which, 

 to a depth of at least two feet, is of a workable 

 consistency and not likely to suffer from ex- 

 tremes of weather, either in the direction of 

 drought or continued wet. 



Such a soil will admit air as easily as it 

 admits moisture, and air performs a very im- 

 portant function in "sweetening" and purify- 

 ing the soil, by hastening those processes of 

 decomposition which are always taking place. 



In soils of the heaviest kind it may be 

 necessary to introduce subsoil drainage by 

 means of agricultural tile, or rubble drains 



